Month: April 2017

Reale Avintia Racing riders left Texas with mixed feelings after the third round of the MotoGP World Championship. Hector Barbera scored two points finishing the race in 14^th place, while Loris Baz got no reward after crashing out of lap 9 of the race, when he was battling with the British rider Scott Redding.

But there were also positive aspects on this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, a track that does in general not favour the Ducati riders. Hector Barbera made some good steps in the learning process of a new riding style with his Desmosedici GP16. Although the final position in the race was fairly disappointing, he understood some things that should be useful in the next race at home in Spain.

Baz was unlucky, but until the crash, he was showing his potential, battling in the group that was fighting for the top 10.

Following three overseas races, the World Championship returns to Europe in two weeks time, and Jerez will be the home round for Reale Avintia Racing and Héctor Barberá.

“It was a strange race, because the result is not good, but I improved my riding style with this bike. It was the first weekend so far this season where we did not touch the set-up, and it was just me who had to change and adapt to the bike. In the last five laps I struggled with arm-pump, because this is a really demanding track and this year even more so due to its bumpy surface. But we have to focus on the positive aspects and this is that we finished the race close to the other Ducatis. I want to thank the team for being patient, and I promise to keep working at the maximum. The next race is Jerez, a circuit I like and where I’m sure that we can do better.”

“It was a shame, because although I was not riding at my best, I was able to stay in the group. Then I tried to catch Scott (Redding) and something failed in the gearbox going into a slow hairpin. The bike was like in neutral and I was forced to run off the track. I came back and maybe I pushed too much, because I crashed just two or three corners later, and today I could not save it… We knew that it was important to finish the race and score points, but today it was tough and the bike was not as easy to ride as in Argentina. But I’m sure that we will be back stronger in Jerez.”

Reale Avintia Racing riders will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix of the Americas from the fifth row of the grid. Loris Baz will start the race from 14^th place, Hector Barbera will line up next to the Frenchman in 15^th position. Both riders fought hard in Q1 to get into Q2 and although Baz was quite close to make it happen, he lost all his chances in the last corner when he almost crashed. But the brave Reale Avintia Racing rider saved the crash in Texas rodeo style, and definitely played a main starring role in today’s first qualifying session. The race will be tough, but nevertheless he will try to fight for a top 10 result tomorrow.

Hector Barbera finished very close to his teammate. The Spaniard still tries to adapt his riding style to the desmands of the Ducati Desmosedici GP16. Although 15^th is not the place he wanted to be at, Barbera was happy at the end of the day with his progression. Tomorrow, he expects to keep improving his riding style with his Ducati during the 21-lap race.

“It was a difficult day and more so in the morning. In FP4 we found something positive that helped us to improve and during qualifying the feeling was really good. I tried to hook up to somebody else to make a fast lap, but there was nobody around. Nevertheless, I had a good pace riding by myself and the lap was not so bad. In my second attack I pushed to the maximum and in the last corner maybe too much… I realized when I was braking that it was going to be difficult to make the turn without going wide, but I really wanted to get in Q2… After all I was not able to do it, but I managed to safe the crash, and at least my sponsors will be shown all around the world.”

“I’m happy, but not over the moon. We are in a phase of adaption, which sounds strange from a rider that is in his 16^th season in the World Championship. But I have to start from zero and change my riding style. With my style this bike does not work, and we know that it’s me who has to change. We have improved a lot compared to the last race, not as much as I would like to, but I think that we are going the right direction, even if we know that it is not going to be easy, because I have to change all my riding habits. The main problem is that when you want to go fast, you don’t actively think about your riding. You ride by instinct and in this moment, my old style comes back, which is the problem. I have to look at the race as another practice session and my target tomorrow will be to improve my riding style, without thinking about the result.”

Reale Avintia Racing are pleased to announce the renewal of their contract with Ducati Corse to race the bikes from Borgo Panigale in the 2018 MotoGP World Championship. The contract has been signed this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas and the team will have two sets of Ducati Desmosedici GP 2017 bikes next season.

The team started to work with the Italian manufacturer in the last races of 2014 and since then, the team has been getting stronger every season and has established a close relationship with the factory. This early renewal of the contract is another step forward with Ducati and a clear signal of mutual confidence.

“I’m extremely happy to announce that we will be racing with Ducati next season. We are like a family and we are fully integrated in their MotoGP project. We had some more options for next season, but the confidence showed by Paolo Ciabatti and Gigi Dall’Igna over these years made the decision easy to sign so early in the season. We feel an incredible support from the factory and the guaranty to have this year’s factory bikes for next season is really important for the team. Now it will be easy to find more sponsorship and to keep growing.”

“We are really happy and satisfied to be able to continue our relationship with Reale Avintia Racing in 2018. It is a team that started to work with us at the end of 2014 and since then they have never stopped growing together with Ducati. We believe that the team will have a great opportunity to do a fantastic job again next season, as they are doing now and as they did in the last years working with us.”

The opening day at the spectacular Circuit of the Americas has been quite positive for the Reale Avintia Racing riders. Although these good feelings didn’t reflect in the timesheets, both Hector Barbera and Loris Baz were satisfied after the first two free practice sessions of the weekend.

Barbera came to Texas with one goal, to adapt his riding style to his Ducati Desmosedici GP16 requirements. In the final minutes of FP2 he was fifth, but eventually he finished the day 15^th overall. He hopes to improve even more tomorrow and will try to fight for a place in Q2.

Loris Baz kept some tyres for tomorrow and spent the day working on his set-up for the demanding Texan track. He crashed out at the end of the day, but he knows the reason for his crash and expects to improve and get the best possible grid position in qualifying tomorrow.

“Today has been a positive day. As I said before coming here, I still need to adapt my riding style to this bike, but today I felt better riding my bike and my riding style is becoming more natural. We have to keep working in this way because I want to get the maximum out of the bike. I want to say a big thank you to my team, they have been patient and they managed to provide the necessary calm to reach our goal. We are still far from where we want to be, but I’m sure that we will get there sooner or later. Their support is really important and without it, everything would be more difficult.”

“The first day was more complicated that Argentina, but we are not so bad as it seems in the standings. This morning I didn’t want to use the soft tyre at the end of the session and I did the 45 minutes with the same set of tyres, which gave us valuable information for the race. In the afternoon I improved my pace riding on my own and the feeling was good. At the end we mounted a new soft rear tyre, but didn’t change the front as I wanted to keep one set for tomorrow. I knew that this combination would push the front. Braking into turn one I made a small mistake and I crashed. I hope to improve tomorrow in FP3 to try to get into Q2.”

The spectacular Circuit of the Americas will be the stage for the third round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship. Reale Avintia Racing head to the United States of America looking forward to a good result, after two points-scoring races in Qatar and Argentina.

For this weekend, riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz have higher goals and are determined to fight for the top ten, on a track that should suit the characteristics of their Ducati Desmosedici GP.

The 5.513 km track is one of the longest in the calendar and features 20 corners with a mix of fast straights and tight hairpins that test bike set-up and rider fitness to the max.

“We head to the Circuit of the Americas and I think it could be a good track for Ducati. It’s fast and it features long straights where power will be important. I’m not at my best moment with the bike, but I believe this race can be the turning point to change this situation. I’m physically strong and I just need to find the limit of this bike to close the gap to the front.”

“I hope to continue in the same direction of the first two races. We have to keep working on some aspects of the bike and see how the weekend goes. We have some ideas to test during practice and I think we can do well in Texas after two solid races in Qatar and Argentina. I like the track and even though I miss a little bit of speed on the straights, I want to get the best possible result on Sunday.”

Reale Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Hector Barbera did not meet their expectations in the second round of the MotoGP World Championship at Termas de Río Hondo circuit. Loris Baz, who started from ninth place on the grid following a solid performance during free practice and qualifying, lost all his chances of battling for a strong result when Jorge Lorenzo crashed in front of him at the first corner. The 24 year-old French rider was last after the incident, and although he was able to recover and pass many riders, he couldn’t fight as he consumed his front Michelin tyre when he pushed to regain positions. He was close to finish inside the top ten, but still held eleventh place when the chequered flag came down.

For Hector Barbera, the Grand Prix of Argentina was not easy either. He worked with his team all weekend long to find a good base set-up of his bike, but he has never been comfortable riding his Desmosedici. Finishing 13^th was a positive result considering his difficulties.

The MotoGP World Championship will head to the Circuit of the Americas in just two weeks, where both Reale Avintia Racing riders will try to come back stronger. The championship has just started and Barbera and Baz know that they are able to perform much better.

“I’m disappointed because I think that we missed a great opportunity today. I’ve lost all chances when Jorge crashed in front of me and I was forced to run off the track to avoid running over him. I lost too much time and although I gave my best to recover when I caught Miller and Abraham, my front tyre was destroyed, so I couldn’t attack. It is a shame because today I had the pace to be with Folger and Petrucci. But overall the weekend has been quite positive, my team did a superb job and we improved every time I went out. I hope to be lucky in Austin.”

“It was a really difficult weekend for me, and I was not able to tame ‘the beast’. We tried all possible settings on the bike; I didn’t get out on the track with the same configuration twice over the whole weekend and now it’s clear that we can’t adapt this bike to my riding style. So it is me who has to adapt to the bike. When I raced with this bike last season, it was already hard for me to get the right feeling and during the winter test I had the same issues again. The first race at Qatar was not a reference as I was recovering from my collarbone injury, but still, the feeling was bad. Here I was back to full fitness and the feeling was the same. In 25 laps I never did a single corner as I would like to. Riding like this is really difficult, because I’m fighting with the bike all the time.”

Reale Avintia Racing rider Loris Baz will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Argentina from the third row of the grid after clocking the ninth fastest time in today’s wet qualifying session. He secured a place in Q2 thanks to his great lap time from yesterday and the 24 year-old French got the maximum out of this opportunity. Baz is ready for whatever the weather will bring for the 25-lap-race tomorrow. He was strong in dry and wet conditions, which he also proved this morning in FP3, where he was fast and consistant on a dry track.

It was not an easy day for his teammate in Reale Avintia Racing, Hector Barbera. With some work left to do on the set-up of his Ducati Desmosedici GP16, the Spaniard was not able to male the decisive step in FP3. In wet conditions during Q1, he lacked the right feeling riding his bike. Barbera will start the race from the 21^st place of the grid, but he is confident of improving during the race.

“I’m happy, but more so with my performance in FP3 this morning, because I was able to set a fast pace riding with Marquez. In Q2 I was disappointed, because I’m always fast in these conditions, but at the end the track was not wet enough for rain tyres and due to my weight, the front tyre was destroyed. To be honest, I have to be happy with the third row, because I have a strong pace and if I can get a good start, I think it will be possible to go with the front runners. We will see what we can do in the race tomorrow.”

“Today was a difficult day. In FP3 we had too many things to test but we had not much time, as the rain came after just five laps. In FP4 the conditions were strange, it was not full wet and the grip was not too bad. But in Q1 we started with a different bike for my first exit and then we chose the wrong tyre with the bike I liked. I don’t want to make excuses, but we are far from finding the base set-up of this bike, and this makes it really difficult to find the right feeling. We will see what happens tomorrow. As always, I’ll give my maximum to get the best possible result.”

Reale Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Hector Barbera finished the first day in Argentina with mixed feelings. In the morning session Barbera ended with the eighth fastest time and was confident of improving in the afternoon, whilst Baz suffered an electronic issue on one of his bikes and finished way back in the timesheets.

Things went the opposite way in the afternoon session, with Reale Avintia Racing French rider Baz moving up through the ranks. After a significant improvement with the rear hard Michelin tyre, he went into soft tyre time attack mode and got the sixth fastest lap time of the day. For Barbera, the last session was quite difficult and he finished 15^th overall in the combined standings. The opening day at Termas de Río Hondo has really tight with top 15 riders in less than a second.

“I had a problem with one of my bikes this morning, but it was not a big issue. Also, the first session here is only useful to clean the track, so it was not a drama. In the afternoon we tried some different settings and all of them were better, so I was able to set a good pace on hard tyres, and finally I went out with the rear soft and with Maverick’s reference I did a really good lap. I think it was possible to go even faster if I had used the hard front, but I’m still very happy. I have improved every time I got on track, and this is most important. I enjoy riding the bike and although I have an upset stomach, the day was really positive.”

“I’m not happy. In the morning I went more or less okay, but this afternoon we didn’t program the session in the right way and we tried a wrong set-up that was useless. I don’t have too much to say, the only positive thing today was that even like this, I was able to set a decent lap time on my own and we are not so far from the fastest rider. We have a clear idea for tomorrow and my target will be to get into the top 10 in FP3 and go straight to Q2. I’ll try, and if I can’t, I’m sure that we will be really close, because my feeling is good and the Ducatis are working really well at this track.”

Reale Avintia Racing riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz will cross the Atlantic Ocean this week for the Grand Prix of Argentina, the second race of the season.

Following a positive start of the year, Hector Barbera heads to Termas de Rio Hondo in a good mood. The 13^th place of Qatar was the best he was able to fight for in his physical condition and after losing the last part of the winter test. But in Argentina, where he fought for fourth place one year ago, Barbera expects to be battling for a Top Ten result with his Ducati Desmosedici GP16.

His Reale Avintia Racing teammate Loris Baz also looks forward to the arrival in Termas. Over the GP weekend in Argentina, he wants to progress the same way he did during the winter tests and the first race of the season. The 24-year-old French rider was twelfth in the opening round of the season and he is eager to make another step in Argentina and to fight for a Top Ten result as well.

“We head to Argentina physically stronger than in Qatar. My collarbone has almost recovered completely and I was able to train harder during the last week. We go to this race with high expectations, which is very different from those ahead of the first round of the season. I like the circuit. Last year I finished fifth and I think it will be possible to get a great result again. We feel strong and I am confident about our chances to do a good race on Sunday.”

“In the first race everything went really well, and that’s why I’m looking forward to race in Argentina. In Qatar I probably did my best dry race in MotoGP, but even though, my feeling was not the best. I’m convinced that it is possible to do even better. I love the layout of the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit and I want to do a good race. We will see how the weekend goes, we will keep working step by step to get the best set up and I’ll try to enjoy riding my bike.”